Hidden in the Dark
by Rebellious Redhead 13
Summary: More like the Life in Midgar Re-write. Reno meets a girl in the slums and begins to fall in love with her despite the dangers he faces by being with her. Eventual Reno/OC. Rated M for later violent content to come.
1. Chapter 1

"Hurry up!" Lyden yells as he shot down the street carrying a bundle of stolen goods in his arms.

I trailed behind, occasionally dropping small objects as I ran. We were probably safe by now, but didn't want to take the chance of them catching up with us. People shouted at us as we weaved through the crowds in the streets. We never slowed and never yielded to anyone until we found our way to a familiar ally, climbing over piles of junk and up the fire escape to our safe house. Nobody but us knew the way around it without falling through parts of the floor.

We slip through one of the broken stained windows and shut it behind us. I leaned up against the wall to catch my breath. Lyden lays out the bundle in his hands, sorting through the various items he collected. "I think we did pretty good this time," he says looking up at me.

I nod dropping my bundle in front of me. "You think this will be enough?" I ask.

He nods, running a hand through his hair and examining goods. "That was pretty close though,"

I nod, sitting down and hugging my knees. "They almost got you," I say. To be honest, it scared me a lot that Lyden got so close to being caught. Sure, he could have taken care of himself fine if it were one or two people who caught him. This time there were six though. It was just to close for comfort.

"Come on sis, no need to get worried about me," he says sitting down next to me.

"Maybe we shouldn't mess with those sort of gangs anymore. I don't want you to get caught stealing from them," I say tossing a silver trinket into the pile.

Lyden laughs lightly standing up and holding out a hand. "Let's go home, Katherine. Joe's probably going to get worried if we don't get back soon."

We pack up our things again and walk back to the diner. It was a really small place under Sector Seven. It was pretty well know though, being a relatively safe place as far as the Slums go. We walk though the door, the brass bell above the door announcing our arrival.

I remember how me and Lyden would always take the bell down when we snuck out at night. Joe would probably ring our necks for us if he found out we were running around the Slums at night. Then in the morning before Joe got up we'd rehang the bell so he wouldn't know. Every time that bell rings I can't help but recall the times me and Lyden had sneaking out.

Joe was behind the counter as always when we walked in. He was a large burly man with a bushy dark brown beard and bald head. His sleeves were rolled up so I could see the large greenish colored skull tattoo on his arm. He looks up at us with dark blue eyes and offers a smile. "You guys are a little late you know," he says.

Lyden shrugs, "We ran into some trouble with some lower Sector jerks." He says sitting down at the bar. "They're real assholes you know. Saw them picking on a couple little kids yesterday. Figured it was time to show them to pick on somebody their own size."

I roll my eyes know that Lyden always exaggerated his stories. I set my bundle of goods up on the counter. "I think that item shop lady might have some good use for some of this stuff."

Joe smiles at me. I always liked how he was really, surprisingly, supportive of us stealing to help out. He knew that we didn't do it too often, only to those who really have it coming. When I first met him, I figured he wouldn't want me and Lyden to be running around the slums looking for work on our own or stealing. But he was, and he always treated me like part of the family, though I really wasn't.

His smile disappeared suddenly turning his gaze back to Lyden. "You all packed yet?"

My heart sinks as soon as the words left his lips. I forgot about that.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go. That guy from the shipping yard is giving me a ride to Kalm in the morning." Lyden says.

"Why can't I go with you?" I ask.

He smiles at me and wraps an arm around my shoulder. "Cause sis. You need to stay here with Joe for a while. When you get a little older, I'll come back and take you with me. I promise."

"You better go get some rest," Joe says shooing him away towards the stairs. I swipe away a tear that slid down my cheek hoping Joe didn't see it. "It's okay, Katherine. I'm going to miss him too,"

"Its not that," I say making my self suck it up. I didn't want Joe to see me weak. "I'm just worried he's gonna get into some trouble without me around,"

Joe laughs setting a hand on my shoulder. "You kids had a rough day. Why don't you get some rest too,"

I nod stomping up stairs to my room. Lyden's light was still on and his door was open a crack. I look in to see him open his window and sling a bag over his shoulder. Pushing the door open all the way I walk in. "I thought you were leaving in the morning?"

He turns around and sighs. "I didn't want Joe to try and keep me any longer," he says walking up to me.

"You promise you'll be careful," I say.

He grabs my shoulders gently and pulls me in, wrapping his arms around me. "I promise." I whispers. A few more tears slip past my eyes, sticking to his shirt. "I'm gonna miss you sis. Try not to be sad. I said I'll come back."

"Yeah, but that's going to be a long time. What am I going to do with out?" I say.

"Try not to get into any trouble, that's what you're going to do." He laughs placing a kiss on my forehead. He lets me go and slips out the window. "See ya," he says dropping to the ground. I look out the window and he looks back up and waves before running down the street out of sight.

I walk back to my room and curl up in bed and cry my heart out. I was going to miss him so much. Lyden and Joe were the only family I've ever known. They took me and raised me for two years. They gave me everything I could ever want in life. Now my brothers gone, and I'm left alone. What am I going to do without him.


	2. Chapter 2

Life in the slums was always hard for people. It took a lot to survive. A lot of hard work and guts. Reno already knew that. Nothing in this world is you're unless you have the guts to go out there and take it. It was one of the rules he lived by. He turns back to look at the kid next to him. A swift nod was his cue to proceed down the alley, hugging the walls and keeping to the shadows.

He peeks into the entrance to one of the small alleys where another gang on the street already made their territory. Four of the gang members looking about fifteen, sixteen sat in a circle cursing to each other over a game of cards while another one that looked about seventeen or eighteen leaned against a wall near by. He's the one that would be the real trouble.

Reno was about to make his move for the largest of the group when a flash of red caught his eye. It was so quick he nearly missed the movement at the other end of the lot where something shot out from behind a wall dove behind a large barrel near it. He motioned for the others behind him to stay still as he watched the barrel, waiting to see another movement.

He ducked when a small rock flew past him and rolled down the street. "What the hell?" The guy by the wall says approaching the barrel and looking around it.

In an instant he was down on the ground gripping his nose. That's when Reno saw the girl shoot out from behind the barrel snatching a bag of supplies off the ground and running back down the alley where she came. The others all stood and chased after her. Reno stood there for a moment stunned at what just happened before running after them.

"Reno what are you doing?!" one of his friends, Dylan, called after him.

"Come one! She's in trouble!" He yells back at them.

He continued to trail them, running passed the one gang member who was still gripping his nose and trying to stand up. He could hear the foot steps of his friends following behind him. He could still see the back of one of the older boys and kept gaining on them. He knew these streets better than anything, and he knew where they were headed.

He skidded to a stop when they came up to a dead end. They had her trapped. One hit her across the face, dropping her to the ground. Another kicked her in the stomach. Reno scanned the ground, looking for anything he could use as a weapon. A broken pipe in this case would do just fine. He ran up behind one of them and brought it down against their back. They fell to the ground and by that time, the Dylan and the others had shown up to fight the rest off.

It didn't take long for them to retreat down back down the alley. No doubt though they would be running into those scum bags again soon. Reno dropped the pipe and walked up to the girl on the ground. He placed a hand on her shoulder only to have it swatted away. "Stay away!" She yells at him attempting to stand up.

"Hey, it's alright. We're not going to hurt you," he says reaching out to help her.

She ignores him, getting to her feet and snatching her bag off the ground. "I don't need you're stupid help," she says wiping the blood off her lip.

She takes a step forward only to stumble and fall over into his arms. Reno caught her instinctively, falling to his knees as he did. "It's alright," he says. "We'll take care of you."

She opens her eyes to look at him. Her eyes were so bright. Acid green in the center and gradually growing darker towards the edges. They were beautiful. "Thank you," she whispers closing her eyes again.

Dylan walks up behind them, peering over Reno's shoulder to look at her. "What was she thinking messing with those guys by herself?" he says shaking his head.

"I dunno," Reno says lifting her up in his arms. She was surprisingly really light. "We better take her back to the safe house before those guys come back."

* * *

My eyes open slightly as I began to awaken. "Lyden?" I say trying to sit up. My face throbbed and burned as I reach up to touch the spot I remember being hit. My stomach ached when I moved to quick, a large purple bruise the result of getting kicked.

Was it Lydnen who came and helped me?

I stand up slowly from the wall I was propped up against. Where am I? "You're up," Some one says. I turn to look at them. They had spiky red hair, creamy pale skin, and bluish green eyes that seemed to pierce right through me. They were amazing. "Feeling any better?"

I take a step back as they took one towards me. "Stay away from me," I say holding my hands up incase I'd need to fight.

He smiles, his eyes suddenly looking more devilish than they were beautiful. "What's that matter? Afraid or something?" He walks towards me.

I back up again, clenching my fists. "I mean it,"

I gasp when my back hits the wall behind me. Now I'm screwed...

They come closer still until they were an arms reach away. "You wouldn't want to forget this now, would you?" They say holding up the bag I stole. I reach out to grab it but he pulls it away too quick. "What are the magic words?"

"Please, I need it," I say reaching out again. This time he lets me grab it, only to pull it forward, me along with it.

"What'd you want it for doll face?" he says smirking at me.

I blush darkly backing up again to my former distance and pulling the bag out of his grip. "It's important that I get this," I say slinging it over my shoulder.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing running around getting into trouble in the slums?" he asks.

My cheeks flush again until I could feel my face burning. This earns me a grin from the redhead stranger. _He thought I was pretty..._ "I have to steal stuff sometimes to help my family." I say. "Thank you for helping me back there."

"My pleasure there..."

"Katherine," I say.

"Katherine," he says slowly, as if tasting the word. "That's a nice name. My name's Reno,"

"Its very nice to meet you," I say stepping to the side to walk past him. He steps to the side, blocking my path again. I take another step to the side, only to be blocked, again. "Excuse me,"

I was silenced suddenly when his lips crashed into mine. My eyes shot open in shock as I was pressed up against the wall as he kissed me. His lips were soft and, oddly enough, tasted sweet. I had never been kissed before, and it was wonderful. He pulls away slowly, a smile tracing those soft pale lips. He opens his eyes just as my fist connected with the side of his face, knocking him backwards onto the ground.

I shake off my sore knuckles and walk up to him. "What the hell was that for?" He says holding the side of his face.

"Why don't you tell me?"

He grits his teeth and looks up at me, his eyes looking both dangerous and beautiful. "I fucking saved you didn't I! Least you can do is be a little grateful and not hit me!"

"I am grateful for what you did. But I don't like being kissed by random street scum." I say looking out the window that looked like I could easily climb out of.

I pull it open only to be grabbed by the arm. I turn around and look at him, now on his feet and staring into my eyes. "Fine, I'm sorry I did that. But, you'll get lost out there on you're own."

"What makes you think that?" I say pulling my arm away.

"The fact that you ran yourself to a dead end not to long ago. Just let me walk you home. I promise I won't try anything." He says. He holds out a hand to me. I look at it for a moment, considering whether or not to take it.

"Reno," Another boy says walking down the hallway towards us. "What's going on? I thought I heard something?"

"It's nothing, Dylan. I was just offering to walk Katherine home." Reno says glancing back at me.

Dylan looks at me, his silver eyes looking like pieces of ice. His coal black hair hung down in his face, covering part of his eye. "It's very nice to meet you," he says smiling at me.

Reno grabs my hand and walks past him down the hallway. We get outside and I look back at the building. It was a large abandoned block shaped building, much like the one Lyden and I called our own. "Where do you live at?" Reno asks turning my attention back to him.

"Ever hear of a place called Joe's Diner?" I ask.

"Yeah, that's just down the road from where I live. He your father or something?" Reno asks starting to walk down the road.

"Sorta. His son Lyden found me out on the streets one day. They both took me in and raised me ever since." I say staring at the ground as we walked.

Reno looks at me, "What happened to your real family?"

I shake my head, "I'd rather not talk about it," We keep walking in silence until we reach the diner. Reno stops outside the door. "You can come in if you want," I say walking up the steps.

"Nah, I better be getting home." He says. He smiles and looks back up at me, "What are the chances of me seeing you again though?"

I was surprised by the question to say the least. "Depends on how hard you look,"

He nods and walks back down the road. I smile watching as he left. _If you can ever catch me..._


	3. Chapter 3

(Haven't added authors note yet? Wow. Anyway, here's the next chapter. This whole story is a little like Life in Midgar. Originally I was supposed to delete Life in Midgar, but being my first story posted on here, I just didn't have the heart to do it. So, please, please, please review if you read this. I just really need some feed back to make sure nothing is going horribly wrong. Thank you.)

I woke up again the next morning with tears still running down my face. I was dreaming of Lyden again. Only this time in the dream, he didn't come back. Just the thought made me want to break down and cry again. I roll out of bed and get dressed. A light grey hoodie and black jeans ending in my light blue sneakers. I run my fingers through my flame red hair and walk down stairs.

The first thing I noticed was it being considerably louder in the diner than it usually was in the morning. The reason became very apparent when I walked in from the back loft. Five boys, all looking between 13 to 15, lined up along the bar talking and joking with each other while picking at their plates of food. One of them looks up at me and waves. I should have never let Reno walk me home or find out where I live. I'm sure I'm going to regret this really soon.

"Katherine!" The black haired one yells raising his arms in the air as a greeting.

Joe looks back at me and raises his eyebrows. "Friends of your?" he asks.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, already suffering from a headache. "Not really," I say.

"What are you talking about Katherine? I thought we were your buddies!" A blond kid says.

I roll my eyes walking past them out the door. The bell rings again after I leave, so I know that they were following. "What do you want?" I ask without turning around.

Reno runs up beside me putting a hand against my shoulder. "We just want to hang out," he says running his hand across my back and wrapping it around me. I shrug him away and walk a little faster. Why were they following me? What did they want? "We've heard about you and your brother, you know. You guys were pretty good. What happened to him anyway?"

"He left to Kalm to find some better work and some help for me and him." I say again not casting him a glance. "He's not coming back for a while,"

"So you're all on your own now?"

"Yep," I say turning the corner and walking down a busy street lined with stalls. "Why do you want to know?"

Reno catches up, "Well we were wondering if you wanted to start hanging out with us, yo. You're pretty clever, and we saw how you broke that guys nose. We want you to be apart of our gang and help us out. We'll be able to help you out too."

"I don't need you're help," I say clenching my fists getting frustrated. He sure was persistent.

"You do too!" he says. "How are you supposed to support you and Joe if you are always getting caught or beat up? You need us."

"I don't need you or anyone!" I say turning around to shout at him. As soon as the words left my lips I felt the weight of them. I don't want to be put out on my own again. I do need someone. I need Lyden to come back. "Just leave me alone," I say turning back around to walk away.

I stop in my tracks when I see a vaguely familiar boy beckoning down at me. His nose was bandaged where I remember breaking it when I punched him and ran. I take a step back and run into Reno who was standing behind me. "Fancy meeting you here," he says reaching out and grabbing me by the front of my shirt, pulling me forward. "You know that wasn't too nice running off on us girly,"

His hands twists into my shirt, making me stand on the tips of my toes to face him. His hot breath hit my cheeks and his eyes burn into mine. "Reno... run!" I say trying to break free of his deadly tight grip. I grab onto his hands and try to claw at them.

The next thing I knew I was thrown to the ground and Reno was standing in front of me, his hand smeared with blood and the boy was laying on the ground, once again gripping his nose and wailing at the pain. The people on the street turned to look, by that time, Reno had drug me to my feet and started pulling me away. The others were close behind us as we were chased down by the rest of the guys gang.

"See, I told you that you needed us," Reno says.

I try to pull my hand away, "No, Reno! You don't understand. You have to get out of here now!"

I look back to see the rest of the gang split up an take separate ways while me and Reno still ran together. "We're almost safe, Katherine. You won't have to-"

He feel backwards suddenly when he ran into another person, landing on me. I shove him off and stare up at the smiling faces of three boys in the other gang. Two others run up behind us, blocking our escape. I drag Reno to his feet and hold onto his arm, keeping him behind me as I backed up to one of the walls while they closed in. I grit my teeth, keeping all to them in my sights in case I had to fight.

"Stay back," I say, warning them not to come any closer.

Reno shot in front of me, holding his arms out to defend me. "It's alright. I'll protect you," he says. I roll my eyes and then cringed when I saw him get punched across the face. He stumbles backwards, I grab his shoulders and keep him standing. "Fucking ow..." he mumbles whipping a drop of blood off his lip. He looks back at me and smirks despite the red mark on his cheek.

I clench onto his arm, trying to keep him back until they pulled him out of my arms and started laying out punches on his face and stomach. "Stop!" I scream about to run after him when a brunette boy stepped in front of me, a sinister smile on his lips.

He grabs me by my hair and throws me to the ground, kicking me again and again in the stomach. My bruises stung and I felt like I was going to hurl any minute. Another boy drops to my level, throwing a punch for my face. I gain enough control to move out of the way a little, making him instead punch the pavement. I smirked at the sound of his knuckles cracking against the ground. I brought one fist and hit him across the face.

I look over at Reno, still getting the shit kicked out of him by three of the five boys. Suddenly I felt hands clam around my wrists and pin them to the ground. I look up at the one boy who had me pinned, and then the other who straddled my hips. "Time to have some real fun girly," The boy says licking his lips. He glances over at Reno. The others had backed off for the moment and he attempted to get up, only to let out a loud, pain filled groan. "Why don't we make your little friend over there watch."

I try to pull my arms free or at least try to get him off, but couldn't. Cold hands began sliding under my shirt. "K-Katherine!" Reno says staring at me and reaching out. He eyes were full of pain and fear.

"Reno, close you're eyes." I say calmly. He shakes his head. "Just close you're eyes and count to ten for me."

At last he nods, eyes slowly sliding shut and laying his head on the ground. This time I smile up at the boy above me. _Time to have some fun..._

In one quick movement I tore my arms free and swung for the boy on top of me. He flies backward when my fist connected with his jaw. I could have sworn I felt bone crack under my knuckles. The feeling was satisfying. To be able to feel each bone fracture and break under my fist. The blood as it gushed onto my skin was a welcomed sensation to me. I loved it.

"One!" I shout letting Reno know the counting had begun.

I roll to my feet turning around and kicking the boy who had me pinned in the face, knocking him out instantly.

"Two!"

The three others ran at me. I dodge one swing for my face, bringing my hand up and hitting them right in the throat. He lets out a chocked wail as he falls backwards, taking another boy out for the moment as well.

"Three!"

I take one unexpected hit to the face, instantly tasting coppery blood mixing in my mouth. Only slightly fazed by the hit I bring my knee up hitting him in the gut. Before he could even try to come back with a counter I gripped onto his neck and threw him to the ground. I kick him in the head knocking him out as well. Only a few more to go.

"Four!"

I whip around just as someone grabs my shoulder and pins me to the wall. I groan as my back slammed onto the bricks. The pain even felt sort of good. Almost like a wake up call. It's been way to long since I got into a fight. I hadn't realized how much I missed some of the pain. Being able to feel bone and blood against my knuckles and hear the screams of pain that I cause.

"Five!" I choke out as a hand grasped onto my throat.

His grip tightens, becoming increasingly painful as my air was getting cut off. Using the wall to push off of I lunge forward, grabbing onto his shoulder and slamming him to the ground. He groans and rolls onto his side, tears slipping down his eyes.

"Six!"

I take one kick to the side, stumbling over to the ground. That one really honestly hurt. Before I could get up the last boy was over top of me, aiming his fist for my face. I use my elbow to block it, bringing my knee up into his groin then pushing him off and standing back up.

"Eight!"

I kick the last boy in the side. He wails, stumbling up to his feet and running away. The others that had become conscious again followed. Not one stayed behind.

"Nine," I say walking over to Reno and kneeling down to touch his shoulder.

He flinches attempting to lift himself up again. I lift his chin up to face me, a trail of blood still running down his lip. His eyes were still shut, waiting for me to say it final digit. I use my thumb to whip away the crimson liquid, smiling down at him.

"Ten..."

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	4. Chapter 4

"Ten..." She whispers. At last I open my eyes and look up at her. She smiled as she wiped the blood off my lip. "Are you okay?"

I nod attempting again to stand up. She grabs onto my arm and helps me to my feet. "What the hell happened?" I ask looking around at the empty alley way.

She laughs letting me go and walking down the street in the direction we came. "Nothing really,"

I follow her, studying her figure for wounds or something. It didn't look like anything except a few scrapes. "Are you alright? What happened to you? They didn't... you know. Did they?"

"Didn't what?" she asks turning around to look at me.

I stutter, "Well... you know."

She crinkles her nose and shakes her head. "Of course not!"

"Then what the hell happened?" I ask again.

She walks forward, placing a hand gently to my cheek. "Everything's alright Reno. You don't have to worry." She says smiling.

She turns around again to walk away when I grab her hand. I feel the still moist blood. She pulls away and looks down her hand. She eyes the crimson liquid before bringing her fingers up to her lips. I could hardly believe what I saw when she started licking the blood from the tips of her fingers. It reminded me much like a kitten lapping up milk.. Among other things. The corners of her lips curl up into a smirk as she continues the process until her fingers were free of blood.

She laughs at the wide eyed look on my face. "Reno, you really don't know too much about me do you?"

She takes a step forward almost making me nervous with that look in her eyes. It was the look that reminded me of a predator as they circled their prey. "I guess I don't do I," I say tempted to take a step back as she came closer. "But I'd like to know,"

"Would you?" She says now less than a foot away. She smiles again, leaning in so I could feel her breath on my lips. "Well,"

"Yeah, I do," I say.

She leans in closer, lips just brushing against mine. I couldn't help myself. I lean forward pressing my lips to hers. I didn't notice before how good this actually felt. I mean sure I've kissed a tone of girls before, but something was just different . She tasted so _good. _Both sweet and spicy, just like cinnamon hard candy, and I _loved _it.

She pulls away suddenly smiling and lightly pecking my nose. She turns around and begins to walk away again, leaving me just gapping at her. "Hey wait! What the hell was that?"

"Reno, if you're coming with me you'd better hurry up or I'll leave you here," She says.

* * *

We kept walking until we come across a large broken down building in the lower part of the slums. Almost all the windows were cracked and stained a worn yellowish color. Piles of rubble and trash surrounded it, making the front door and many of the first floor windows impossible to get through. She walks around the side of the building to a rusty old fire escape. She looks back at me once before grabbing onto the bottom bar and pulling herself up to the first platform.

"Are you coming or what?" She says looking down at me.

I step forward and grab onto the bottom bar and pull myself up even though my body screamed in protest. Every muscle burned but I managed to pull myself up, rolling onto my back as I reached the first platform. She walks over and looks down at me, smirking. "What?"

"You feeling okay still?" she asks.

I try to sit up again only to wince as my stomach jolted again from getting kicked so many times, "No,"

She helps me up and we walk up another three platforms. "Wait here," she says slipping through the window. I sit down leaning against the wall and wait for her to return. When she does she had a vile of green fluid in her hand. An acid green color to it just like her eyes. "Okay, take off your shirt."

"Excuse me?" I say looking up at her.

"You heard me. Come on, take it off." She says again kneeling down in front of my and tugging at the edges. She pulls it over my head and traces her fingers across my chest. "Don't get excited,"

She pours some of the gel like fluid onto her hand and rubs it lightly over the large bruise on my face. At first it was light and tingly, then my skin started to heat up. It didn't take long after that. My skin felt like it was burning and being stripped away. Tears began slipping down my eyes as the burning continued. What the hell was this stuff? I lift a hand to try and whip it away when her hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, making me suffer through the torment. Then just like that it all stopped. She lets my wrist go I lift a hand to my face to find the bruise gone, skin smooth and unmarked yet again.

"That stuff works pretty good," I say.

She continues the process over my chest. Once finished she hands my shirt back to me. "Much better,"

"Thanks," I say pulling my shirt back on and standing up. "Where did you get that?"

"Me and Lyden smuggled this from a shop above the plate. Took us a lot to get it, but its good to have around."

"You didn't have to use it on me then,"

"It's okay. We didn't go through all of that trouble just to steal one. We have a ton of them," she says sitting down next to me.

"Alright, I still want to know what the hell happened back there?" I say.

She laughs, "Fine, you really want to know,"

"Yeah,"

"To be honest, I'm not like regular people. I'm an experiment conducted by Shinra in an attempt to create the perfect warrior. However, I escaped when the project was shut down. I managed to get out before getting destroyed."

She looks at me, my eyes wide. "You're kidding right,"

"Nope," She stands up and leans down. "What's the matter Reno?"

I stand up as well taking a step back as she came closer. "Your lying,"

"What's the matter Reno? You scared?" She says licking her lips.

"N-No," I say feeling the platform bar behind me, keeping me from going any father without falling. She came closer still.

"You look scared," She says laughing. "Reno, you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not going to hurt you. But if you really want to run then I won't stop you,"

I peer into her suddenly darkened eyes. For a second I really actually thought of running. She was a Shinra freak... She was an escaped experiment that could easily end my life if she wanted to. That's how she must have fought off all those guys in the alley. She even fucking liked the blood off her fingers like some monster. But she helped me, gave me medicine to cure my wounds, fought and protected me? Why?

Then I remembered that sweet kiss. Looking at her now she looked so innocent. How could she be a monster?

"I'm not going anywhere," I say hoping she couldn't hear the doubt in my voice. "I don't care. I want us to be friends."

She looks at me again only this time shocked. "Y-You do?"

"I'm not afraid. I'm not going to go anywhere." I say reaching out and grabbing her hand. "I want to friends with you. I promise I won't leave."

Tears begin to brim her eyes and I wrap my arms around her. "Thank you, Reno." She whispers in my ear, her breath making me shiver.

She pulls away and grabs my hand, pulling me up the stairs to the roof. "What are you doing?"

"I want to show you something," she says walking over to the edge of the roof.

She sits down on the edge with her feet dangling over. I sit down next to her, wondering what we were doing. That's when a beam of golden light caught my eye. I look up into the sky while the beam grew. The light warmed my skin unlike I've ever know under the plate. There were very few places the sunlight reached in the slums, but this was amazing. I think that I made the right choice staying...


	5. Chapter 5

Its been a week since me and Reno became official friends. At first I wasn't sure how it was going to work at all. I have not a clue what possessed me to kiss him that day, but I vowed to myself I'd be much more careful around him now. I was amazed that he was okay with me being a corrupt Shinra experiment. He's the first person aside from Lyden and Joe that actually accepted me for being what I am, and I couldn't be happier.

I made him promise though not to tell any of the others. They accepted me into their gang which they called themselves the Rebels. There were only five of them, six now including me. There was Dylan, the unofficial group co-leader. He had black hair that usually covered his eye, and bright silver eyes that I could swear gleam in even the dimmest of light. He was sort of like Reno in some ways. He got bored really quickly and almost never takes anything seriously unless he gets pissed about something.

Then there was Isaac, the blond and the brains. He was really calm and calculated when it came to practically everything. He wasn't much of a fighter, but he's smart with what he does. Usually I find him working on gadgets at the safe house. Tinkering with things like home-made smoke bombs using metal parts he finds on the streets or buys with spare money from the item shop.

There were the twins, Jack and Jake. They were only thirteen, making them the youngest in the group. They were always found arguing with each other over something or other. However, I and everyone else seemed to find amusement in their constant babbling. It was as if they had some secret code or could read each others minds with only a glance. So when they weren't arguing, they worked together quite well.

Lastly there was Reno. He was the oldest out of all of us, being a year older than me. He was always so brave, even though occasionally his bravery didn't get him very far. He was sly and cocky and a total airhead at times, but everyone still looked up to him as a leader. So did I.

"Earth to Katherine? Are you spacing out or something?" I hear looking over to my right to see Dylan waving at me trying to catch my attention. "What's the matter?" He asks looking at me with sincerity.

"Just thinking about things," I say leaning back against the wall. He hops down off the crate he sat on that they brought into the safe house to serve as a place to sit. He paces around the room looking out the windows down onto the street.

"Why don't we go out and do something?" he says looking at me and Isaac for support.

"Because Jake said he saw those guys we fought a while ago scoping out the streets," Isaac says from his spot at the desk, pushing his rectangular glasses back up to the bridge of his nose. "You wouldn't want to get caught out on your own with them around would you?"

"I thought it was Jack that said that?" Dylan replies.

"One or the other,"

"Whatever. Beside, I wouldn't be caught alone if one of you guys would go with me." Dylan says. Isaac shakes his head and turns around in his chair. "Come one Kathy. You want to go out and have some fun don't you?" He says turning to me.

"I think we should just wait until Reno and the others get back." I say looking out the window.

"You're scared then, aren't you?" he says.

I whip my head around to look at him. "I am not!"

"Then why don't you want to go?"

I stutter for a moment before turning my head away. "I just don't,"

"Dylan, don't be rude. It seems like your more scared of going out on your own, otherwise you wouldn't be insisting for someone to go with you," Isaac says not bothering to turn around.

"Shut up Isaac," Dylan mumbles falling back down onto his crate.

There was a loud knock on the door and Dylan flies out of his seat to answer it. Reno and the twins walk in with bundles in their arms. "Where have you guys been?" I ask standing up and walking over to them.

Reno smirks, "Oh, no where. Just figured since those guys were out there searching for us we'd drop by their territory and borrow some stuff. I don't think they'd mind," He laughs setting the old torn flour sack on the ground and dumbing out the contents.

Isaac walks over and picks through the pile for usable parts. "What idiots. Leaving their territory unprotected to go searching for us. Fools," he muses grabbing a few metal pieces and taking them back to his desk.

"Hey, Katherine. I picked up something I thought you'd like," Reno says digging into his pocket and pulling out a silver chain and pendant. He hands it to me and I study the pendant, flipping it over and over in my hand. It shinned like it was still brand new, the surface unmarked. It had an engraving of a heart on one side while the other was blank. "You know, figured you'd like something pretty like that," he says giving me a wink.

My cheeks flush a dark red at the gesture. I hear someone snort and turn around to see Dylan glaring at me. "I'm heading out," he says walking towards the door.

"All by yourself? You sure you don't want anyone to go with you?" I ask my gaze following him to the door.

"No, don't bother. Wouldn't want to ruin all you're guys fun." he says slamming the door behind him.

I walk back over to my spot, peering out the window as he ran down the street. Reno shrugs and sits at my side. "Wonder what his problem was," he says gazing own the street with me.

"I hope he's alright. Maybe we should follow him or something. I don't want him to get hurt." I say the growing concern for my friend pushing me to go after him. "Could you come with me if I go?"

Reno nods following me out of the building. I could hear a loud crashing in the distance, thunder. It never really rained in the slums anyway. Most of the rain water that ran off the plates was collected by storm drains, but their were some places that nearly flooded. Me and Reno walk together in silence down the road until the safe house was out of sight. I zip up my sweatshirt, trying to keep out the chilling breeze that swept between the tall buildings.

The cold always bothered me. Winter in the slums was always the worst. Large drifts of snow always found its way under the plates. Joe's place didn't have much for heating either, making it that much harder to stand. The bone chilling cold and the shaking that followed it was awful for me. I didn't ever quite handle it like everyone else.

"Hmm," I hear Reno mumble as he came to a stop at the end of the street. There were only two ways to go. "Why don't you take the right and I'll take the left. Then we'll meet up at the end of the block. Sound good?"

I nod turning and walking in the other direction. Reno disappeared around the other corner, leaving me alone once again. I shrieked when I heard a loud crash of thunder above me and the street lamps flickered, threatening to leave me in total darkness. I should have just stayed at the damn safe house instead of trying to follow that stupid boy out here. I curse to myself when the streetlights flicker again, the light they provided becoming even duller making it hard to see

My worst fears became reality when the powerful thunder shook the very plate, and the lamps ceased to glow. I was stranded in total pitch black darkness, the only light was the occasional flash of lighting casting ghostly shadows down onto the street. I stumble around in the darkness, careful to try and not trip on the curb as I moved my way to the side of the street, finding a cool tin wall of a building to lean up against as I waited for the lights to come back on. I rest my head on my knees and close my eyes. The rain running off the side of the building chilled my spine but I didn't dare move. I didn't dare make a sound...

I prayed silently in my head for something to happen. I should have just stayed at the safe house and let Dylan find his own way back. I should have just stuck with Reno instead of listening to his stupid plan to split up. I should have at least brought a flashlight...

"Katherine?" I open my eyes suddenly and look up to see Reno looming over me, a small lighter producing enough flame to see his face. "You had me worried," he laughs sitting down next to me. "Must be some major power outage or something. I think the entire bottom part of the sector is in the dark,"

I scoot closer to him, hooking my arm into his and resting my head on his shoulder. He laughs shaking his arm loose and wrapping it around my shoulder, pulling me in closer. "I don't like the dark," I say watching the small flame flicker until Reno let it go out.

"The lights will turn back on soon." He says.

I burry my head in his shirt, inhaling his scent. It was nice. It was a smoky, musty scent with the light fragrance of cologne. His shirt was soft and his body radiated with warmth. I moved as close as I could to harness that heat. The heat that I needed.

Reno shifts slightly, moving his arm down around my waist, making me shiver. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you,"

"Promise?" I whisper back closing my eyes.

He was quiet for a moment as if thinking it over. "Yeah, I promise," he says running his fingers through my hair.

I still couldn't see anything, but I could have sworn that I felt Reno press a kiss to my forehead. Even if he did I didn't move. I didn't want this warm feeling to ever go away.

The lights suddenly flicker back on and I burry my head back into his shirt avoiding the searing brightness. He laughs "Well that's much better isn't it. We better hurry up and get back to the safe house before they go out again," Reno says making an attempt to move, but I still clung to his slim figure for comfort. "Is everything alright?"

I shake my head, still clenching my eyes shut. "It's too bright," I whine.

He laughs lightly again, shaking out of my grasp and standing back up, holding out a hand to me. "There is just no pleasing you, is there?" he says hoisting me to my feet. "Come on. I want to put as much distance between me and this damn block as possible,"

We trudge home in silence, although the occasional flash of lighting and roar of thunder nearly made me jump out of my skin. We got back to the safe house to find Dylan waiting for our return. We hung out and the safe house the rest of the night, the small lanterns hung around the small room providing enough light for us to play cards while the storm still shook the very building with the loud claps of thunder.

And for some reason as I look out the window into the night, the dark didn't scare me as much as it used to.


	6. Chapter 6

"Shut hell up creep!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, clenching my fists at the redhead before me. That signature smirk still plastered on his stupid face. I grit my teeth, trying to hold back my frustration and the urge to hit him.

He leans in, his cheek touching mine as he whispered in my ear, a sugary sweet tone to his voice. "You lost baby. Time to pay up," he purrs.

I blush darkly, pulling away from him. He grins, leaning back and holding his arms behind his head, obviously satisfied with his small victory. I glare at him standing up and digging through my pockets. I take out a wade of cash and toss it to him, sitting back down and crossing my arms, pissed about being defeated by him.

"You need to learn how to play cards better," he says collecting the playing cards scattered across the ground. That damn grin still pasted onto his face.

"Shut up, you cheated," I mumble.

"You pout too much,"

"What the hell are you two still yelling about!" Isaac shouts stomping up the stairs. He glares at the two of us, leaning on either side of the wall in the hallway. Cards were scattered everywhere across the floor, along with empty soda bottles. "You guys sure know how to make a mess,"

"You need to get out of that little desk of yours every once and a while to come and play with us." Reno says. "Where are the other three goons at?"

"They are out side, on a nice day like this. That's what you two should be doing too instead of screwing up here," Isaac says pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, looking obviously annoyed.

Reno chucks the pack of cards at him. It bounces off his chest and tumbles down to the ground, Isaac showing little to no reaction. "Shut the fuck up!" he yells. His eyes were blazing, which made Isaac laugh slightly.

"Did I spark a little nerve?" he mocks.

Reno stands up and swings for his head, which surprisingly enough, Isaac was able to avoid. I laugh, grabbing Reno's arm. "Calm down," I say pulling him back from going after Isaac again. He glances back at me and I give him the sweetest smile I could muster. "Pretty please," I say fluttering my eyelashes at him.

He laughs, pulling his arm away, "You two are both really screwed up," he mumbles.

"Lets go," Isaac says walking back down the steps.

Reno and I follow him down the stairs outside. "What the hell do you want to do?" Reno says stomping down the stairs.

"Dylan and the others went to the park to play baseball. Why don't we go there?"

I smile, amused at how the two bickered over stupid things like everyone in our gang did. My smile soon began to fade went I felt something begin to burn in my chest. At first it was just a small ting of pain, that quickly grew into something much worse. Like my heart was being lit a flame. "Katherine are you coming or not?" Reno shouts back at me.

I let out a chocked whimper as I fall to my knees, clenching onto the spot on my chest. The feeling began to spread through out my muscles. In the tips of my fingers initially, though the feeling was light like the feeling you got when your hand would fall asleep, until it got deeper into my skin. It felt like needles were being pushed into my skin all the way down to the bone. I collapse onto the ground, letting out a whimper in pain. By that time Reno was at my side.

"Katherine! Katherine what the hell is happening!" he says lifting me up, resting my head against his shoulder. "Hey, Katherine please!"

I start to scream, gripping onto my head as it pounded like a drum, feeling like it was about read to burst. "What the fuck is happening to her!" Isaac yells kneeling at my side and gripping onto my hand. I clenched onto his hand desperately, my nails digging into his skin deep. He winces but doesn't pull away.

"I don't know!"

Tears start streaming down my cheeks, burning against my skin. I know what it was that was doing this to me. I saw this happen to Lyden before. I was so scarred when it happened to him. I cried as he suffered out in the street, not able to bring him home or get him help. All I could do is sit there hopping that he would get better, but he didn't. Instead I waited there the whole time until Joe came out looking for us. Lyden was still to weak to move, but he got over it in a week.

Now the same thing was happening to me like it did with all the kids with the condition that we had. I scream again, the feeling reentering my head and stinging and searing and burning like you couldn't imagine. Reno tried to shush me, combing his fingers through my hair to keep me calm. I bit my lip, tasting the coppery blood as it gushed out of the open wound onto my tongue. Reno wrapped his arms around my shoulders protectively. It felt so comforting, almost making me forget the pain for a moment to look up at him. My heart swelled in my chest at the sight of those deep, greenish blue eyes that watched me in horror as I suffered.

"K-Katherine," he says leaning down and resting his forehead against mine. "Please, just hang in there,"

Isaac's eyes were shaking with terror as he turned his gaze from me to Reno. "What are we going to do? What's happening to her?"

Reno shook his head. "I don't know. There's nothing much we can do is there?"

I let out a soft whimper and a sob, the worst of the pain starting to slowly fade away. I let go of Isaacs hand and cling onto one of Reno's arms as if it were the only thing that kept me clinging onto life. I felt completely immobile. I couldn't seem to move at all except for my efforts to hold onto the nearest person. It was getting harder and harder for me to breath. The air just didn't seem to want to enter my lungs what so ever.

And before I knew it, my eyes began to slide shut. "Katherine! Katherine stay with us, please!" Reno shouted attempting to shake me out of my daze. My head lolled from side to side, but it didn't help to keep the darkness from embracing me in its arms, allowing me to drift away into sleep.

* * *

When I awoke again I noticed the familiar scent of fried foods, whisky, and damp wood, key signs that I made it back to Joe's bar. I lift my head, noticing that I had some sort of mask over my mouth that helped me breath I would assume. I tear it off and toss it to the side, sitting up on the couch that had gotten pulled out to create a bed. Joe used to be an ex-soldier, so he still had the medical training an supplies handy whenever we did need them. I attempt to lift myself up only to collapse back down against the thick cushions, my entire body sore and stiff. I look beside me, asleep in the chair next to me sat Reno, his head resting against his hand, his face looking run down and tired.

I study his face. His narrow features, his wild red hair. Those beautiful eyes of his hidden behind heavy eyelids. I was tempted to reach out to him and rub his cheek until he woke up, but stopped myself. I couldn't think that way about Reno without hurting him. I wanted nothing more to protect him. He accepted me for who I was, and I wasn't going to be the reason he would get hurt.

"Reno, please wake up," I say softly poking him in the cheek, trying to bite back a giggle as I did so.

His eyes fly open, leaning back in his seat again and blinking several times before finally getting his eyes to focus on me. When they did, a sleepy smile graced his features. "Hey there Kathy," he says.

"Don't call me that," I mumble attempting again to sit up.

He laughs moving to sit on the edge of the bed. He pushes my shoulder down lightly, causing my efforts once again to fail. "Let's not try to hurt ourselves any more than we already are, yo." He says grinning at me.

"I'm sorry," I say tearing my gaze away from him, a sliver of guilt paining my chest.

"What for?"

"For not telling you about that earlier," I say. "Its something that happens to people like us. When our body finally begins to adapt to the chemicals and accepts them. It happened to Lyden too. I knew it was just a matter of time before it happened to me too."

"Lyden's an experiment too?" Reno asks raising an eyebrow at me.

I shake my head, knowing that it was going to take a lot of explaining before Reno would understand what exactly was wrong with people like us. "Lyden acquired this condition naturally. What we have is very complex. It's almost like the life stream in ways. It flows through out bodies like blood as it does through the planet, only it really isn't blood at all. It's more like a disease. It flows in you're blood stream, then after so long, you're body begins to harness the chemicals. It gives us strength, but it also causes such unimaginable pain. What happened, was my body finally excepting the chemicals, using the energy and feeding off of it."

"I don't quite understand. Energy? Feeding?" he says is eyes still wide with bewilderment and almost disbelief.

"Our bodies uses the chemicals for energy and strength, but it is possible to use it all up at once, and then with no alternate source, we could die. But every time we use a little bit, it regenerates all by it's self rather quickly." I say pulling up my sleeve and looking at the faintly visible veins, knowing that just beneath the surface, there was poison. "That's why it is important we try to conserve the energy we have until we either really need it or it fully develops, making it less risky to use."

I look up at him and offer a smirk. He nods, his fingers clasping around mine and squeezing softly. "You're pretty deadly then aren't you," he says.

"Yeah, but you don't have to be afraid Reno. I would never hurt you. I have complete control over it." I say, knowing that I was lying just a little bit. I didn't have total control over it, but I rarely ever lost it. I could hold back my rage and power if I had to. I could make it. Or at least, I could learn to.

"How do you know all of this?" he asks.

"I was an escaped Shinra experiment remember. They at least know a little about what sort of things they deal with over there."

Reno intertwines his other hand with mine. I hadn't noticed before how deeply his eyes peered into mine. He wasn't worried about being afraid. No, he had plenty of other things on his mind. He leans in, his lips brushing ghostly over mine. "I think it sounds beautiful. You sound so beautiful,"

My face began to burn red and he presses his lips to mine. It was so soft at first. He let go of my hand and moved it to my neck, pulling me forward just a little bit as his lips teased mine with light kisses. I moved my hands to his neck, running one through his hair and pulling him down deepening the kiss. We began to grow more intense, mouths moving together, lips parting, heat taking over my entire body.

My eyes shot open when his tongue invaded my mouth. _This can't happen! This can't be happening! You need to stop! _I thought desperately trying to will myself to end the kiss, but I couldn't. It felt so good. Wet, invading, dominating, and passionate. As if Reno was reading my mind. So much for trying to keep control of my feelings. If something as simple as a kiss could send me teetering over the edge of losing control of my emotions, then what happens when I'm put up against emotions like hate?

At last I break away from him catching my breath and staring into his eyes with fear. His taste still tingling on my tongue and mixing in my mouth had me craving for more, but I held back. I couldn't let that happen again. "What's the matter?" Reno asks his eyes hazing with lust. "Did I surprise you?"

I shake my head, scooting away from him as much as I could before pain racked my body again. "You need to go," I say turning my gaze away from him.

I didn't need to see it to be able to tell that there was hurt in his eyes. The same hurt that had my heart aching. "Why? Please, Katherine, all you have to do is tell me. Anything? What's the matter?"

"I don't want you to ever do that again Reno!" I say still not facing him. He couldn't see the pained tears that slid down my face. He couldn't see that I didn't mean it. That I wanted him so badly to stay. "Just please, go."

He sits there for a moment, staring at me, before I finally felt him move off the bed and the door to the loft close behind him. I curled up in bed, pulling the blankets over my head and crying. I could no longer deny to myself what I had been for a long time. The way he held me in his arms. The way he talked to me while I was in pain, trying anything possible to keep me hanging on. The fact that he fell asleep in a chair waiting for me to come back out of my sleep. I could no longer deny it.

I loved Reno Sinclair...


	7. Chapter 7

(I know that the story has been going really slow lately, but I promise it'll get better. PLEASE REVIEW!)

_Two years later_

I trudge down the road in the cold, dragging my feet through the snow drifts that had snuck it's way under the plate. I shivered, clenching my eyes shut trying to ignore the ripping cold that tormented my skin as well as my sanity. I hate the cold. I couldn't hate anything else more in the world but the cold. Except for maybe the wind. How it always had the ability to shake the very plate. And you'd think being underground and all we wouldn't get too much wind, but that isn't always the case. It always found it's way under the plate, tearing through the alley ways. The two things I hated more in the entire world. The cold and the wind.

And often the dark...

I stopped in my tracks, my acute hearing picking up the soft thud of foot steps through the snow behind me. Any ordinary person would have never been able to hear it, but then again, I wasn't any ordinary person either. I pull the edges of my jacket closer together, pretending that was the only reason I stopped and continued on, smiling to myself at how clever I was to realize that I was in fact being followed, and that I had a good idea of who it was. I round a familiar corner, one that lead to the diner and took the few seconds opportunity I had out of sight to climb the fire exit attached to the near by building. Silently I pulled myself up and waited for my pursuer to emerge from around the corner.

It wasn't more than a minute until they appeared, looking around the alley, wondering where I had gone. The figure was hooded, but I still knew which of the Rebels it would be. Any smart pursuer would have scanned the ground for foot prints, but not everyone had been trained to notice the flaws that I myself noticed in my own plan. I hop over the bar on the fire exit and land in the snow behind them, grabbing their shoulders and pulling them down with me.

They flip over onto their back and stare up at me, though to my surprise, it wasn't who I thought. "How did you know it was me? Or that I was even following you?" Dylan asks his silver eyes gleaming like the snow itself.

My heart sinks a little in my chest, but I manage a smile. "You're pretty loud you know," I say standing up and helping him to his feet.

He brushes the snow off of his pants and looks at me, grinning. "It's nice to see you again," he says.

I nod, offering the warmest face I could manage. After what had happened with Reno, I felt it would be best to avoid him all together, so I wouldn't get the chance to hurt him. Which also meant I left the gang, instead helping Joe work at the diner when business got rough, or doing other various jobs in the sector on my own. Though I would still occasionally see the slum boys during the summer or every once in a while in school, we never seemed to talk or even acknowledge each others existence.

"Yeah its been a while hasn't it," I say rubbing the back of my head.

Dylan nods, "Anyway, I was following you cause, well I just figured that maybe you'd want to go out and see a movie sometime. Me, Isaac, and the twins are going out tonight if you'd care to join us," He says.

"Reno's not going?" I ask, though I really wanted to slap myself after saying so. As if they weren't suspicious enough of the two of us hanging out before.

"No, he's out with his new girlfriend."

"Oh," I say a little shocked at the statement. I guess I should be glad that Reno found some other new toy, but at the same time, a thread of jealousy and guilt began to burn in my chest. _What are you feeling so sad for? You should be happy. Happy that he's happy with someone who wouldn't be able to hurt him._

"So, do you want to come?" Dylan proceeds.

I guess I really did do a good job of hiding the pain in my eyes, because Dylan didn't seem to see how much the statement hurt. "Things have been pretty busy at home. I'm sorry," I say turning down the offer.

Dylan nods, stepping in and hugging me. I stood there awkwardly in his embrace, not trying to pull away, yet not making any attempt to return the gesture. "I hope I get to see you around again. We've missed you, you know," he says letting me go.

"I've missed you guys too, but you know, duty calls." I say turning around and walking off.

When I got back home I didn't even bother saying hello to Joe as I walked in. I barely even cast him a glance as I made my way to the back loft and then to my room where I curled up under the thick covers on my bed. _You should be happy. Why is it so hard to be happy for him_. My chest ached at the thought of him, as it had for a long time after I left the gang and every time I saw him._ You can't hurt him now. You won't be able to hurt_ _anyone._

She was probably beautiful. Fragile and fair, never having to experience hardship. Your average above plate stuck up girl that had a thing for badass, cute slum boys like Reno. He probably loved her, and would protect her from anything. Would comfort her in her times of need. Would make her laugh when she was feeling down. Everything that made Reno such an amazing person once you were able to get past the fact that he was a cocky, arrogant bastard half the time.

I smile at the thought, feeling safe in his arms. I'd never have that again though. Never would I be able to feel his lips, his warmth, or his touch. I couldn't allow myself to. I needed to control every single emotion so I wouldn't loose every shred of my control, even though it was yanking my heart out of my chest and tearing it apart little by little every single day.

I wish it didn't have to be like this. More than anything I wish I could be with him. I couldn't get over the fact that I loved him. Not just some little crush that you get over in a month or two, but I mean really in love with him. Everything about him.

What I need now is an escape...

* * *

I needed to escape my worries. If for only one night, I just wanted to forget everything that has ever happened to me. I wanted to wash all of that pain away. And unfortunately, Joe made it very clear to both me and Lyden that we were never supposed to get drunk at home. So that is exactly what lead me to this shady bar in the lower slums. The place reeked of liquor, and what I'm guessing was some sort of rotting dead thing. Or at least that's what it smelled like.

Of course the place was loaded with scum bags, most looking as if they had never seen the sun before in their life, or even bathed. I took a seat down at the bar and ordered the strongest thing they had. The bartender gave me a grim look. I guess it wasn't often he saw sixteen year old girls ordering drinks by themselves. Surely none that didn't look like some sort of cheap hooker.

A large burly man sat down next to me, and I turned my head to look at him. He looked just as out of place as I did. He was dressed nicely in a black suit, tie and everything. His head was bald and he wore a pair of sunglasses, even though we were indoors. I knew that he was a red flag. No body dressed that nice in the lower slums, and it wasn't until I looked down and saw a metal rod and gun attached to his belt did I know for certain what he was. A Turk.

He waves to the bartender, holding up to of his fingers, letting him know to get two of whatever I was receiving. I narrow my eyes at him, something that I don't think he noticed. Our drinks are set on the counter and I take it, still watching him as he took a drink from his. I fumbled with my words in my head, thinking of some sort of introduction when he spoke first.

"You should know that these sort of places are dangerous," he says.

"I didn't come here for trouble, I came here to drink," I say taking a sip from my glass. It tasted like liquid fire, and I loved it. People didn't care about under aged drinking in the slums. Sure there were still rules around, just no one below the plate cared enough to enforce them. "Besides," I say turning my attention to the counter instead of him. "You look just as out of place as I do."

I catch in the corner of my eye the mans lip curling up the slightest bit.

"My name's is Katherine, by the way," I say holding out a hand to him.

He takes it, giving it a firm shake, "Rude," he replies.

"So Rude, tell me, what is a Turk like you doing hanging out in a shitty bar like this, this far down in the slums?" I say downing my drink and hissing through my teeth as the eye opening taste burned the back of my throat.

"Just got off of a mission a few blocks down," he says. "What about you?"

"Drinking away the pain," I say setting my empty glass down on the table.

Rude nods, gesturing for the bartender to get us another round of drinks. "Then we may be here for a while,"


	8. Chapter 8

The two shot glasses slammed against the wood in a loud clap as me and Rude finished yet another round. Obviously I was more effected by the liquor than he was, my hand shaking and my mind fuzzy. Everything felt numb, and I enjoyed it. Like the world to me now was wrapped up in some sort of soft fuzzy blanket that made almost everything seem that way. Fuzzy, soft, and numb.

I exhale slowly, the liquor still hanging heavily on my breath. Rude shot a glance at me and shook his head, though I could tell he was slightly amused. The two of us have been talking all night about various things. It took a little bit before he actually became comfortable enough to say so many words in a sentence at a time. But he eventually warmed up to me a bit more, smiling slightly and chuckling softy while I told stories. I was very interested to hear about his job as well.

The Turks had always been notorious. Shinra lap dogs. Specially trained assassins, that Shinra put full trust in as body guards, investigators, hit men, assassins, anything. Anything Shinra wanted done, the Turks could do it. But still, the burly man sitting just next to me didn't intimidate me or even frighten me in the least bit.

I remember always thinking of Shinra workers when I was little as Mako addicted, snarling beasts that with the snap of the presidents fingers would attack like guard dogs, taking down it's prey by the throat. Yet here Rude was, classified as an extremely dangerous and trained killer, sitting in the same shitty old bar, having the same shitty old drinks, and talking with me like a regular person. In some weird way, it made me feel more, safer. If someone like him could learn to still adjust to his work and still his social life, than could I do the same when it came to what was inside me? Still be dangerous, but not let the danger show?

"Where are you from anyway?" I ask, assuming I wasn't slurring and propping my head on my hand that rest on the bar.

"Kalm," Rude replied simply. "You?"

I was about to blurt out something about Shinra when I stopped myself. At least I wasn't that mentally impaired at the moment. "Midgar," I say hastily before I could blurt out any more. There was an awkward silence for a moment and I looked up at the clock on the wall. It was eleven thirty. Joe would probably throw a fit if he knew I was here, but I didn't care. "I better be taking off. Shit to do tomorrow," I say pulling on my jacket.

I turn around to walk out when a shock of red hair caught my eye and I froze. Reno's eyes met with mine for a moment that felt like an eternity. Those green-blue pools burrowing into my very soul. He looks away first, thank the gods, because I don't think I would have been able to. Rude stands up and places a hand on my shoulder.

"You want me to give you a ride home?" he asks.

I shake my head, my gaze drifting to the floor. "No I'll be fine. I'll just...walk," I say walking out the door.

The cold air did help to sober me up a bit while I walked. My mind was still fuzzy, but I wasn't that dulled. I take out my knife from my belt strap and point it at the unknown figure that had been following me. Reno held up his hands in defense, eyeing the blade that was currently level with his next. "Hey Kathy. Staying sharp I see," he says placing the tip of his finger to the blade and lowering it slowly.

I slip it back into its strap, trying my best to ignore him. "What the fuck do you want?" I ask. At least I knew I wasn't slurring.

"I just wanted to talk to you, yo. It's been a while hasn't it." He says sticking his hands into his pocket and letting out a breath of foggy air that drifted upwards into the sky until it finally faded.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I dunno," he says smirking.

I roll my eyes, "Heard you were supposed to have a date or something tonight."

"Where'd you hear that from?" he asks raising an eyebrow at me.

"Dylan told me when he invited me to the movies," I say. "Whatever, you know I don't even care. Bye,"

I turn my back to him only to feel his hand clamp onto my shoulder. "Hey damn it, I just want to talk," Instantly I whipped around, bringing the back of my hand to his face.

He seemed stunned at first, lifting his hand up to touch his burning red cheek. "Don't touch me! Just go away and go fuck-" I stop mid sentence at the sight of the smiling face closing in behind Reno. I turn around, meeting another large man. Then a third one closed in, cornering us to a wall.

"Well, well, well." The largest of the group says his mouth curling up into a smirk. "What is a pretty little girl like you doing wondering around in this part of the slums?"

One of them grabs Reno by the collar, "Scram boy," the man growls throwing him to the ground away from me.

He was on his feet in an instant, brining his fist across the guys face, dropping him to the ground. Instinctively I grab onto his arm pulling him back. He was torn out of my grasp by the other two and pinned to the wall. "Somebodies not going to let us have our fun. We'll just have to fix that," the man says taking out a switch blade and holding it to Reno's cheek. I step forward to stop them only to have the other man pin me to the wall.

"Fucking bastard," Reno growls, attempting to break free.

He cries out in pain when the blade sunk into his skin at the temple, slicing down and curving slightly under his eye. The process was repeated with the other side until he had blood streaming down his cheeks. The man holds the blade to his throat next, pressing it against that pale skin. My eyes widen in shock and before I knew it, I had let the darkness inside of me take over again.

I could feel my limbs nearly shaking with the shear power that I had been focusing on. I tear away from the mans grip, not bothering to try and knock him out or anything. The other two look at me as I came closer, taking slow, calculated steps. They release Reno, who slides to the ground. The first guy make the first attempt to strike, thrusting the blade forward towards my chest. I was able to side step it, grabbing onto his wrist and in one quick movement, twisted it enough to hear a sickening snap. The other swings for my head, which I dodged, bringing my fist into his stomach and then to his face.

I felt arms tangle into my own holding them behind my back, and while I took my attention off the other two for just a moment to try and break free, I hadn't noticed that one picked the knife back up, not until it entered my skin. I gasp as the blade as imbedded into my left shoulder, instantly feeling the warm blood seep out onto my skin. If it weren't for the power that I now had, I wouldn't have been able to stand it.

Thankfully, however, I did...

I tear my arms away from the one who had them pinned. Taking the blade out of my shoulder myself I sunk it into the mans heart, smiling as the hot blood flowed out onto my hands. I could see death in his eyes for a split second as I looked into them before whatever light that was there faded. I whip around, the blade extended and finding the flesh of the next mans cheek and slicing a long cut in it. The next swing slashed right through his throat. His blood spilled onto the ground staining the snow beneath him.

I laugh down at the crimson liquid, liking the blood off of my fingers as I approached the last thug. I was about to kill him when I was grabbed by the arms and pulled away. The knife was knocked out of my hand onto the ground. I scream and thrash, trying so hard to break away. "Stop! Stop!" I hear Rude shout.

I begin to settle, by breath slowing down into soft pants. My knees grow weak and Rude sets me down on the ground. I couldn't find the strength to get up. The pain in my shoulder returned. I heard a loud shot and look up as the last man ran down the street, clenching onto his wounded shoulder. Rude returns his attention to me, lifting my hand off of my wound and examining the exposed flesh, picking at the edges of my torn shirt. He takes off his glasses, hooking them onto his jacket as he pulls a shining orb out of his pocket. He rolls it around in his palm, as if contemplating whether or not he needed to use it before holding it over my skin. It burned for a long time before the relief followed. The wound had healed for the most part, the only thing that remained was an dried up nasty scab over the exposed spot of skin.

"T-Thank you," I say, still running my fingers over the hardened blood through the tear of my shirt and standing up. My potion would never had worked so well on such a deep wound, so I was really grateful to him. I hear a loud groan and rush over to Reno's side. I lift up his chin and examine the cuts. They were pretty deep, and I'm sure that Rude didn't have any more materia with him that would cure it. I whip the blood off of his cheek, staring at the crimson liquid that coated my fingers still. The taste still lingered onto my tongue along with the alcohol.

Reno's eyes open slightly, he must have slammed his head pretty hard when he hit the wall. "Katherine?" he moans eyes sliding back shut and hand at the side of my face. He pulls me down, his lips brushing against mine when I pulled away from him hastily. I'm not going to lose it again.

"Let's take you home," I say pulling his arm up over my shoulder and supporting his weight. I turn to the bald man who nudged one of the two dead bodies with his foot. "Thank you, Rude,"

He gives me a nod but no other reply as I walk away down the road. Reno was hanging his head, which constantly swayed back and forth. "So you decided not to leave me there," he mumbles.

I roll my eyes, "You're a selfish bastard,"

"For what? Wanting to talk to you after I haven't seen you for so long?"

"Yes," I mumble, my hand tightening on his arm slightly.

He laughs dryly, lifting his head enough to give me a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "If it weren't for those damn cuts I'd slap you," I say using my shoulder to wipe of the now moist skin.

"Why do you think I did it?" he says.

"I thought you had a girlfriend or something,"

"Not anymore. She was nothing more than a hobby anyway," he says laughing again.

I roll my eyes again, "You're pathetic,"

Reno stops, straightening up and standing on his own. "By the way my face feels like shit,"

I reach out to poke at the tender skin. "I have some potion still, but I'm not sure if that would keep it from scarring." Reno flinches away, hissing and holding his hand over his face. "Come on, I want to get you treated soon,"


	9. Chapter 9

We got back to the diner around midnight, the kitchen light still on, letting me know Joe was still awake. I turn around to look at Reno, "Stay right here, and I'll open my window for you to come through. Otherwise Joe would kill me to have me coming back this late with you," I say.

Reno nods, walking around the building looking up at my window. I open the door, cringing when the bell above the door rang. Joe walks out from behind the bar and sighs in relief. His eyes were heavy with worry. "Thank the gods, kid. You shouldn't scare me like that."

"I'm sorry," I say rubbing my eyes, trying to act like I was sleepy. "I lost track of time."

Joe nods, "Alright, well I've been called to Sector four, an old friend needs some help over there."

"With what?"

"Business. Nothing very specific really. I'm closing down the diner for a week while I'm out. I assume you'll be fine staying here on you're own for a few days." He says. I smile giving him a hug.

"I'll be just fine. Whatever it is just be careful okay." I say.

He grabs his bag off of the counter and walks out, the bell wishing him his final farewell. After a few minutes when I was sure his truck was down the street did I open the back door for Reno. I flip on the lights and sit him down on the couch in the loft. I retrieve a bottle of potion and pour some of the gel like substance onto my hand. Reno grabs my wrist before it connected with his skin. His eyes peered deeply into mine.

"This is going to hurt a bit," I say.

Reno nods allowing my hand to touch his wound. He clenches his eyes shut, gritting his teeth, his hand clamping onto my wrist and tightening. I pull my hand away, watching as the mixture glowed dimly and then vanished once it healed. I gasp, tears swelling up in my eyes. Reno opens his eyes again, placing a hand to his face. "What's the matter? Katherine?"

I start to cry, "I'm sorry Reno. It was too late. I couldn't fix it all." I say resting my head on his shoulder.

He picks up the mirror that was sitting on the table and looks in it. He runs his fingers over the large red scars left on his face. He sets the mirror back down, and I couldn't believe it when I saw a smile trace across his lips. He holds my face in his hands, running his fingers over my cheek, brushing away the tears. "Don't cry. It's alright." He purrs lightly. "It's fine. I don't mind them."

"You don't?" I question whipping away the tears with my sleeve.

He shakes his head, still smiling and wrapping his arms around my waist. "I'm glad I got to see you. It's been so long. Why did you leave?"

My heart was skipping beats. It felt like I could hardly breath. "I had to Reno. I..."

"Why? Why, as soon as someone gets close to you, do you have to push them away? Why do you have to push _me_ away?" He says.

"Because I'll hurt you," I say attempting to push away from him. His grip only tightens pulling me in closer until his body was pressed against mine. "I don't want to hurt you Reno. I killed those two men! I can't control myself! I thought I could, but I can't! I could kill you!"

"You're not going to hurt anyone. I know you Katherine. You wouldn't hurt any innocent person. You won't hurt me." He says placing one of his hands gently on my cheek while the other held me flush against him, almost sitting on his lap. "What you don't understand, is that there are people in you're life that want to be there for you. I want to be with you. I care so much about you."

"How? How can you care so much about someone like me? I'm dangerous."

"You're not dangerous," Reno whispers. He pulls me in, gently placing his lips to my forehead, mumbling against my skin. "I love you. I always have."

Tears began to slide down my face, "I-I love you too,"

I barely had time to think before his lips smashed into mine. His tongue slid over my lip and I opened my mouth, allowing all the access he wanted. He explored my mouth, coaxing me into responding more. He pushes me back onto the couch, pinning my wrists above my head with one hand while the other slid under my shirt. He attacked my neck, teasing me with teeth and tongue. I couldn't help but allow a breathy moan slip past my kiss swollen lips. These feelings were so foreign, and so amazing.

I could no longer control the sounds I made. Moans and pants and noises that I had never made before emerged in my throat as he devoured my skin. I feel Reno smile against my neck, bringing his head back up and pressing a kiss to my forehead, then to the tip of my nose, and at last to my lips. We were both breathing heavily.

"You have not clue how long I've been wanting to do that," he breaths

"Reno... I..."

"It's okay baby," he purrs, his free hand massaging the side of my leg making me groan.

"I... want...more..." I pant out already overcome with pleasure.

Reno leans back for a moment, a smirk curling at the corner of this mouth. "You sure about that?"

"Yes, please. I want you Reno. I-I need you."

I had never felt so desperate before. At last I knew that he actually felt the same about me. That he loved me. I was still taking raged breaths, Reno's hand was still stroking the side of my leg. "I'm not sure if you can handle me," he says leaning forward again and running his tongue up my throat. My breath hitches again, eyes sliding shut and savoring the feeling.

"Please,"

At last he releases my arms, leaving me almost disappointed. It felt good to be restrained, left helpless by him. His fingers curl under my shirt and lift it up over my head, tossing it some where in the room I couldn't see. I shivered as he ran his hands across my body, over my chest, fingers curling under my bra strap. He leans down, nibbling on my collar bone.

"R-Reno..." I moan, my body shaking. My hands clench onto his shoulders, trying to find something, anything that I could hold onto that kept my world from spinning out of control.

"I love you baby," he whispers.

"I love you too,"

(Hehe... At last we get to the good stuff. Please review. Pretty pretty pretty please.)


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